Dhaka - Bangladesh on Thursday decided to submit maritime boundary disputes with neighbouring India and Myanmar to compulsory arbitration before a United Nations tribunal, a minister said.

Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told reporters the country would seek compulsory arbitration under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The ongoing negotiations to settle the dispute over territorial waters in the Bay of Bengal would, however, continue to try to reach a fair agreement, the minister said.

"Should these negotiations not succeed, we reserve the option within four to five years of having a final and legally binding resolution that will define our maritime boundary. In this way, Bangladesh continues but does not remain dependent on negotiations that have been on-going for 35 years without results," said the statement.

The decision came in the wake of claims by neighbouring India and Myanmar over the maritime boundary of the three offshore blocks earmarked for oil and gas exploration in the bay and a day after the Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed vowed to pursue hydrocarbon exploration in the bay.

"This will allow us to settle once and for all this dispute with our neighbours, to ensure that our sovereign rights to the natural resources in the sea are fully respected, and to move forward to an era of prosperity as we exploit our national wealth for the good of all the people of Bangladesh," the statement said.

It added that all three countries are parties to the convention and they are under an obligation to accept the final award of the tribunal.

Foreign Secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes earlier said that disagreement has surfaced with India and Myanmar over the maritime boundary of the three offshore gas blocks in the deep Bay.

With the dispute still on, Bangladesh has decided to award three blocks for hydrocarbon exploration to US oil giant ConocoPhillips and Irish company Tallow Oil plc. The government is in talks with the companies over a final deal. (dpa)